ABILENE, Texas – The Cleveland State women's tennis trio of Alex Bush, Kara Sherwood, and Mathilde Orange all picked up singles victories Saturday afternoon, but the Vikings came up short in a 4-3 decision at Abilene Christian.
"This was a good competitive match today, it's always better when you are on the winning side, but it was a fun match to be a part of and I am very proud of how hard the team fought today," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "After all of the travel issues that we had getting down here, we battled really well throughout the match and fought right down to the last point, but just came up short in the end. It was good to see Kara get a win today, and for Alex Bush and Mathilde to continue their winning ways. Abilene Christian was a tough opponent for us, and hopefully we will be able to back on the winning track tomorrow against McMurry."
After dropping the doubles point, Kara Sherwood evened the score at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles. Sherwood's victory was her first singles win since the beginning of the spring season, giving her eight singles wins on the season.
The two teams then traded the next two points, as CSU fell at No. 1 singles, but picked up a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 2 singles from Alex Bush. Bush's victory marked her third straight singles win, and gave her 10 singles wins on the season – the third Viking to reach the 10-win mark this season.
After Abilene Christian picked up a victory at the No. 5 spot, Mathilde Orange evened the score at 3-3 with a 6-3, 7-6 (1) victory at No. 4 singles. The final singles match of the contest was the No. 6 singles match between Victoria Bensimon and Emily Conrad, with Bensimon coming up just short in a 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 decision.
Cleveland State will continue its Texas roadswing tomorrow, facing McMurry at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Abilene Christian 4, Cleveland State 3
Doubles:
- Hermsdorf/Hermsdorf (ACU) def. Orange/Power (CSU), 8-5
- Reed/Walker (ACU) def. Bush/Gbadamosi (CSU), 8-4
- Conrad/Marjanovic (ACU) def. Sherwood/Bensimon (CSU), 8-3
Singles:
- Micah Hermsdorf (ACU) def. Lauren Golick (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
- Alex Bush (CSU) def. Brittney Reed (ACU), 6-2, 6-4
- Kara Sherwood (CSU) def. Erin Walker (CSU), 6-1, 6-4
- Mathilde Orange (CSU) def. Kaysie Hermsdorf (ACU), 6-3, 7-6 (1)
- Nada Marjanovic (ACU) def. Princess Gbadamosi (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
- Emily Conrad (ACU) def. Victoria Bensimon (CSU), 3-6, 6-4, 10-5
